Crane's Feedback on the Presentation

[Caroline McCann]

Smuckers,

Great job tonight!  Everyone did awesome and I think we had the best presentation of the night.  Not to mention how excited everyone was about the free Uncrustable.

Please see below for the notes I took on Crane's feedback:

• He seemed to be very interested in the revenue figures from each innovation idea- This is something we should definitely highlight in our report.
• He mentioned the idea of ditching the oils and baking arm of the business.
  
• He wanted to know our thoughts of innovating in the coffee segment.
• He pointed out that private labeling is "very robust" right now.  He wanted to know if we had thoughts on entering this segment.
• He commented on the fact that Wal-Mart was "putting the squeeze on smuckers" in terms of profit margin and its definitely in their best interest to broaden their distribution channel.
  
• Regarding the new Smuckers advertising campaign, in addition to advertising on buses, he recommended giving away samples of Smuckers in the store as well as marketing samples of the Smuckers Jam Band Character.  Perhaps we could offer free samples of  Uncrustables and also give kids some Jam Band Stickers to plant the Smuckers brand in kids' heads.  Crane also said that giving away samples in stores will create repeat customers.
  
• Lastly, he touched on the idea of bundling products specifically through "Drop Shipment", such as our baskets idea.
  

Overall, the number of comments/questions he asked definitely showed his intense interest in our presentation.


-Caroline

[Jenny Robertson]

Hi guys, 

Please see my thoughts below.  And Thank you Caroline for putting together Prof. Crane's thoughts!  

Do we plan on getting together again for the writing part?  When is the actual report due?  I'm guessing next week?

On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 9:59 PM, Caroline McCann <mcca...@husky.neu.edu> wrote:

Smuckers,

Great job tonight!  Everyone did awesome and I think we had the best presentation of the night.  Not to mention how excited everyone was about the free Uncrustable.

Please see below for the notes I took on Crane's feedback:

• He seemed to be very interested in the revenue figures from each innovation idea- This is something we should definitely highlight in our report.

          I thought we did this pretty well in our presentation, but yes, we can highlight more in our report.  

• He mentioned the idea of ditching the oils and baking arm of the business.
  

         I personally think this is a part of innovation portfolio as in the getting rid of unprofitable business lines -- but we're not really able to tell exactly which products are "unpopular" -- and we also talked about this during the presentation where Son highlighted the recent acquisitions of the coffee business may skew the profitability.  

• He wanted to know our thoughts of innovating in the coffee segment.

         This takes our portfolio in a new direction, but sure, I guess we can brainstorm about this a little..but I'm not sure where that would lead us.  Personally, I am a little frustrated by this comment b/c I'm not sure if he means that he wants us to add this or ?...  B/c my response to this is that we focused on the aspects about Smuckers' that we felt were "weak" or in need of innovation and so my feeling is that we did not focus on the coffee segment of their business since it seems that they are doing quite well in that area.    

• He pointed out that private labeling is "very robust" right now.  He wanted to know if we had thoughts on entering this segment.

         I could have sworn that we discussed this idea after that class about private labeling / store brands.  I think this is a good idea, but again, do we now put this into the report or?...   

• He commented on the fact that Wal-Mart was "putting the squeeze on smuckers" in terms of profit margin and its definitely in their best interest to broaden their distribution channel.
  

          I think he said this for primarily to support the fact that Smucker's is in need of finding new customers b/c Walmart has immense negotiating power so this is a key weakness.  But we've already pretty much highlighted this (weakness) in our report and presentation. 

• Regarding the new Smuckers advertising campaign, in addition to advertising on buses, he recommended giving away samples of Smuckers in the store as well as marketing samples of the Smuckers Jam Band Character.  Perhaps we could offer free samples of  Uncrustables and also give kids some Jam Band Stickers to plant the Smuckers brand in kids' heads.  Crane also said that giving away samples in stores will create repeat customers.
  

           I feel like this is more a fine detail of implementation and I wasn't aware we had to go into such minutia -- but ok, should we add this into the report?

• Lastly, he touched on the idea of bundling products specifically through "Drop Shipment", such as our baskets idea.
  

        I'm not familiar with a "drop shipment" -- so should we add this in too?

[Phu Son Le]

Yeah, I a little baffled at some of his comments.  In any case, I think I need to do the writeup for the financials for our growth options.  I hope to get this done by Saturday definitely by Sunday.  I think you are right Jenny that the paper is due on Tuesday.

 

As for the presentations, I think our presentation was the best (not saying that because it’s our group either).  I also thought McDonald’s was good too (good ideas with solid justifications).  JetBlue was the least in my opinion.

 

Regards,

Son

[Huy Tran]

Our presentation definitely created several memorable moments.

In my opinion, I think the only thing we should add to the paper from Crane's comments is the part about giving away free samples. I like Caroline's idea a lot about giving away Jam Band stickers to kids so they can do fun things with them and spread them around to other kids. 

[Phu Son Le]

Hey Guys,

 

Here is the writeup for the financials.  I didn’t go into much detail as for as the three growth strategies since I think we have these written already (Chris for mascots campaign, michelle for leveraging existing brands, Caitlin for online suite).  What I focused on was the logic & statistics we used to get to our financial considerations. 

 

We’ve done a lot of work and the pieces are scattered.  I think we need to piece the complete document so we know what is done and what is outstanding.  Jenny, I believe you had said you were going to spearhead this, am I right?

 

Regards,

Son

 

Also, I have a sheet with my sources I used that I need to put together.

[jcch...@gmail.com]

hi Son,
thanks for getting this out. ill take a look and get back to everyone tomorrow. ill also email Crane to get a hard due date.

thanks,
Jenny

>* He seemed to be very interested in the revenue figures from each

>innovation idea- This is something we should definitely highlight in our
>report.
>
> I thought we did this pretty well in our presentation, but yes, we
>can highlight more in our report.
>

>* He mentioned the idea of ditching the oils and baking arm of the

>business.
>
> I personally think this is a part of innovation portfolio as in the
>getting rid of unprofitable business lines -- but we're not really able to
>tell exactly which products are "unpopular" -- and we also talked about this
>during the presentation where Son highlighted the recent acquisitions of the
>coffee business may skew the profitability.
>

>* He wanted to know our thoughts of innovating in the coffee segment.

>
> This takes our portfolio in a new direction, but sure, I guess we
>can brainstorm about this a little..but I'm not sure where that would lead
>us. Personally, I am a little frustrated by this comment b/c I'm not sure
>if he means that he wants us to add this or ?... B/c my response to this is
>that we focused on the aspects about Smuckers' that we felt were "weak" or
>in need of innovation and so my feeling is that we did not focus on the
>coffee segment of their business since it seems that they are doing quite
>well in that area.
>

>* He pointed out that private labeling is "very robust" right now. He

>wanted to know if we had thoughts on entering this segment.
>
> I could have sworn that we discussed this idea after that class
>about private labeling / store brands. I think this is a good idea, but
>again, do we now put this into the report or?...
>

>* He commented on the fact that Wal-Mart was "putting the squeeze on

>smuckers" in terms of profit margin and its definitely in their best
>interest to broaden their distribution channel.
>
> I think he said this for primarily to support the fact that
>Smucker's is in need of finding new customers b/c Walmart has immense
>negotiating power so this is a key weakness. But we've already pretty much
>highlighted this (weakness) in our report and presentation.
>

>* Regarding the new Smuckers advertising campaign, in addition to

>advertising on buses, he recommended giving away samples of Smuckers in the
>store as well as marketing samples of the Smuckers Jam Band Character.
>Perhaps we could offer free samples of Uncrustables and also give kids some
>Jam Band Stickers to plant the Smuckers brand in kids' heads. Crane also
>said that giving away samples in stores will create repeat customers.
>
> I feel like this is more a fine detail of implementation and I
>wasn't aware we had to go into such minutia -- but ok, should we add this
>into the report?
>

>* Lastly, he touched on the idea of bundling products specifically

[Michelle Toth]

Yeah, I agree that emailing him might be a good idea, thanks for doing that Jenny.  I remember him saying "If I'm really nice I'll give everyone an extra week so that all groups can incorporate presentation feedback".  But I don't remember hearing anything after that, so worth checking.

[Michelle Toth]

Also, does someone have a consolidated version of the paper so far?  I can definitely do some work on it tomorrow evening, I'm just not sure what our starting point is.  It may be helpful to look at what we have and then divide up what is left.

Thanks!

Michelle

[Caroline McCann]

Attached is the write-up on industry research. 

I have not seen a consolidated version of the paper.  Perhaps everyone can try to email their sections out by mid week.  That way we can consolidate what we have so far, and distribute the remaining sections among us.



-Caroline

[Jenny Robertson]

hi everyone, 

for some reason, I thought there was a full version on google docs, but I was mistaken. 

I'd be happy to be repository for the sections and organize it into one paper and re-send out to everyone.  

Would everyone email their sections to me by Wed. at noon?  That way I have a little time to organize it and get it back out to  everyone before the week is over.  

I've emailed Crane about a final due date, I think someone said 13th or 14th which makes sense, since technically, that is finals week, but I'll let you know how he responds.

Thanks, 

Jenny 

[Michelle Toth]

Hi Jenny - Were you able to get in touch with Dr. Crane?  I was talking to people from other groups and they are all under the impression that it is due tomorrow... and if that's true we're kind of in big trouble.  

[Jenny Robertson]

hi All, 

He got back to me and it is due tomorrow!  SO Sorry, I was out most of the day... 

IF everyone can send it to me tonight by 10 or so, I can get it ready for tomorrow....

~Jenny

[Michelle Toth]

Wow!  Hopefully everyone checks their email!  I will probably be at work until around 8:00 and then I'll head home to write... I will try my very best to have you my section by 10:00 Jenny.

[Jenny Robertson]

Caroline -- ok, np.

I'll review what I have and try to get organized and get together a final by Tues around 1pm for everyone to look at -- and then a final paper by 3pm.

Thanks, 

Jenny

[Caitlin Carrick]

Hi all (and Jenny - thanks for doing this), 

1.) Here is the link to the Increasing Online Presence Section: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14QfcG1TOjt6tPs42CRa3_7go9K-4ENMGjQv3Tbv43dU/edit?hl=en_US

2.) I also included a paragraph on "pester power" that I think should be added either to the Customer Analysis section or at the beginning of the section we write about marketing to children. Jenny, I think we should add a sentence or two in the Customer Analysis about how Smucker's "concentrated customer base" is a weakness. Wal-mart as a core customer is a weakness of Smucker's because Wal-mart has a control over Smucker's. Any change in the relationship of Smucker's and Wal-mart could have a significant negative financial effect on the company (Datamonitor, 2011).  

*This information was taken from Datamonitor so is already included in the works cited with Customer Analysis

*Crane liked that we had mentioned this in our presentation so it would be beneficial to add this part in 

3.) I think that Jenny's had the right idea in the Customer Analysis in regards to writing about the interviews/surveys as long as we incorporated more of the data. It shouldn't be part of the Customer Analysis section but rather I think that this should be a separate section with a separate addendum containing our table with our results. Who has the table with the results? We can just have a paragraph or two write up on the results (we don't need to go into full detail). What does everyone think? 

Thanks! 

Caitlin 

[Michelle Toth]

Here's the competitive analysis... feel free to edit!

Thanks for compiling Jenny!

[jcch...@gmail.com]

hi everyone,
i agree with Caitlin about putting in a chart about the responses we received from our surveys, would you mind sending me that data?

re: Walmart - ill definitely mention this bc it is an industry-wide issue.

I'm going to see what we have and email out asap.

thanks,

- Jenny

Caitlin Carrick <caitlin...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Hi all (and Jenny - thanks for doing this),
>
>1.) Here is the link to the Increasing Online Presence Section:
>

><http://goog_1487931190>

[Huy Tran]

Hey guys,

here is the compiled questionnaire that was sent out by Chris a couple of weeks ago.It should have all the responses.

Thanks,

Huy

[Jenny Robertson]

hey guys, 

I'm missing one part: Enterprise Analysis -- we have the the proposed growth that Son did, but we don't have a section on current Enterprise analysis.  Per my notes it was assigned to Chris and Son.  Can someone confirm this is coming?

thanks! 

re: Survey -- I see there are names and some people have names and ages, and some just have numbers to represent their survey takers -- I think this would be more compelling is we can group the ppl surveyed -- ie: 18-25 year old male, if we have data like he is the primary shopper or shops for himself etc that would also be good to know.

Can the people who don't have the age data send that to me?  and the person who identified their participants with numbers provide that info?  I personally don't think names are necessary b/c I will be re-doing the chart to reflect groups and their responses.

Thanks! 

~Jenny 

[Phu Son Le]

Thanks for organizing the paper to understand our gaps Jenny.

 

Chris, I recall you said you had the enterprise analysis in outline form and were in process to put in written form.  I didn’t want to duplicate so did not attempt to move foward.  Are you almost complete to forward?  Thanks.

[Huy Tran]

Jenny,

 

I've attached the questionnaire with the ages of my survey-takers. They should be the first 10 on the list.

 

Thanks,

Huy

[Jenny Robertson]

Hi all, 

Sorry for the piecemeal emails, but as I'm going through, I have the following:

Huy -- thanks for updating the chart. 

So if you guys won't mind, I'm going to edit the chart a little too and include it as an exhibit.  

Son -- the NPV is based on what discount rate?  (or if anyone else knows this in case you discussed during the meeting?)  I feel that we should disclose it to prove that our NPV is calculated correctly. 

Still need the Enterprise Analysis portion since I think it will make a good intro to the paper -- does anyone have Chris' cell phone and could text him in case he doesn't have access to email right now?

Thanks, and will keep you guys updated as I go. 

~Jenny 

[Caitlin Carrick]

I've attached my responses, for some reason they weren't in the
compiled document. I added the extra demographic info as well.

Thanks!

On 12/6/11, Jenny Robertson <jcch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> Sorry for the piecemeal emails, but as I'm going through, I have the
> following:
>
> Huy -- thanks for updating the chart.
>
> So if you guys won't mind, I'm going to edit the chart a little too and
> include it as an exhibit.
>
> Son -- the NPV is based on what discount rate? (or if anyone else knows
> this in case you discussed during the meeting?) I feel that we should
> disclose it to prove that our NPV is calculated correctly.
>
> Still need the Enterprise Analysis portion since I think it will make a
> good intro to the paper -- does anyone have Chris' cell phone and could
> text him in case he doesn't have access to email right now?
>
>
> Thanks, and will keep you guys updated as I go.
>
> ~Jenny
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Huy Tran <tr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Jenny,
>>
>> I've attached the questionnaire with the ages of my survey-takers. They
>> should be the first 10 on the list.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Huy
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 7:59 AM, Phu Son Le <le...@husky.neu.edu> wrote:
>>

>>> Thanks for organizing the paper to understand our gaps Jenny.****
>>>
>>> ** **

>>>
>>> Chris, I recall you said you had the enterprise analysis in outline form
>>> and were in process to put in written form. I didn’t want to duplicate
>>> so
>>> did not attempt to move foward. Are you almost complete to forward?

>>> Thanks.****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> Regards,****
>>>
>>> Son****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> *From:* smucke...@googlegroups.com [mailto:
>>> smucke...@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Jenny Robertson
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 06, 2011 7:45 AM
>>>
>>> *To:* smucke...@googlegroups.com
>>> *Subject:* Re: Crane's Feedback on the Presentation****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> hey guys, ****

>>>
>>> I'm missing one part: Enterprise Analysis -- we have the the proposed
>>> growth that Son did, but we don't have a section on current Enterprise
>>> analysis. Per my notes it was assigned to Chris and Son. Can someone

>>> confirm this is coming?****
>>>
>>> thanks! ****
>>>
>>> ** **

>>>
>>> re: Survey -- I see there are names and some people have names and ages,
>>> and some just have numbers to represent their survey takers -- I think
>>> this
>>> would be more compelling is we can group the ppl surveyed -- ie: 18-25
>>> year
>>> old male, if we have data like he is the primary shopper or shops for

>>> himself etc that would also be good to know.****
>>>
>>> ** **

>>>
>>> Can the people who don't have the age data send that to me? and the
>>> person who identified their participants with numbers provide that info?
>>> I
>>> personally don't think names are necessary b/c I will be re-doing the
>>> chart

>>> to reflect groups and their responses.****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> Thanks! ****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> ~Jenny ****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 6:58 AM, Huy Tran <tr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:****
>>>
>>> Hey guys,****
>>>
>>> ** **

>>>
>>> here is the compiled questionnaire that was sent out by Chris a couple of

>>> weeks ago.It should have all the responses.****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> Thanks,****
>>>
>>> Huy****
>>>
>>> ** **

>>>
>>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 6:18 AM, Jcch...@gmail.com <jcch...@gmail.com>

>>> wrote:****

>>>
>>> hi everyone,
>>> i agree with Caitlin about putting in a chart about the responses we
>>> received from our surveys, would you mind sending me that data?
>>>
>>> re: Walmart - ill definitely mention this bc it is an industry-wide
>>> issue.
>>>
>>> I'm going to see what we have and email out asap.
>>>
>>> thanks,
>>>

>>> - Jenny****

>>>
>>>
>>> Caitlin Carrick <caitlin...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> >Hi all (and Jenny - thanks for doing this),
>>> >
>>> >1.) Here is the link to the Increasing Online Presence Section:

>>> >****
>>>
>>> ><http://goog_1487931190>****

>>> >>****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>>
>>
>